Ryan Wilson relishes Scotland back-row competition

Scotand flanker Ryan Wilson said he is excited by the competition in the back-row from young talents.

The Edinburgh pair of Hamish Watson and Magnus Bradbury have both grabbed their opportunity given to them in the autumn internationals with impressive performances.

Watson, 25, made his first start for Scotland in the 22-23 defeat to Australia and retained his position against Argentina as well during his team's 19-16 win. Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Bradbury made a start on his debut game against Argentina.

Wilson, whose game against Australia was cut down to four minutes with an injury was named on the bench for the Argentina game allowing starts for both Watson and Bradbury.

Despite, the fierce competition around, Wilson had high regards for the young back-rowers and is aware that he has to fight his way back.

"We're bringing through plenty of back-rows right now and we're all pushing each other on.

"Magnus did fantastic at the weekend when he played. That's just credit to the depth Scottish rugby is bringing through.

"It certainly [spurs you on] when you see someone coming through and pushing you that bit more.

"It pushes you in training and means you've got to work harder. You can never rest on your laurels here. You've got to keep working to keep that shirt on your back.

"The depth throughout the squad is growing and growing. Every season there is another couple of players who come in and do so well.

"It's credit to the Scottish mentality that when you get your chance, you take it. Every one of the new boys who have come in to the squad have done that."

Scotland will round off their autumn internationals campaign against Georgia on Sautrday at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park.

Georgia are fresh from their 20-16 victory over Samoa riding on efforts from Beka Bitsadze and Merab Kvirikashvili. Wilson urged Scotland not to take the 12th ranked Georgia lightly and believes they should go hard at their opponent on Saturday.

"We've got a big challenge ahead of us," he said. "They are a good team with a good set-piece.

"They are on the right track. They are doing well.

"They have had a good few results recently and got a win over Samoa at the weekend. They are definitely on the up.

"They scored with a penalty try and another push-over try at the weekend so they have set their stall out in terms of how they play.

"It's something we have looked at and something we have focused on. We will need a big performance from our pack."

Scotland coach Vern Cotter is set to make way for Gregor Townsend in June next year and the Six Nations tournament will be his last assignment with the team. Wilson wants his team to send off Cotter on a high with a victory over Georgia and an improved performance in the upcoming Six Nations.

He said: "It's really important that we get another win. After a good win over Argentina we want to carry that on.

"We're always looking ahead to the next tournament and the Six Nations is huge for us this year.

"But we will deal with it one game at a time and that means only looking to Georgia this week. When we played the Aussies they were our only concern and that was the same with the Argies. We just need to make sure we go well this week."